Landfill Won`t Hurt Wells, Panel Told

A planned landfill in Palm Beach County will not pollute drinking water wells in northern Broward County, a regional planning group was told on Monday.

``There does not appear to be a potential impact,`` Carolyn Dekle, assistant director of the South Florida Regional Planning Council, told members of the panel at their regular meeting.

Despite the objections of a Parkland city commissioner, members of the planning council voted unanimously to accept Dekle`s report and direct the Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority to proceed with plans for a landfill adjacent to the Hillsboro Canal.

The council also directed the Solid Waste Authority to keep other governments in Broward and Palm Beach counties informed of developments on the landfill and any changes in plans for the project.

The proposed landfill, designed only for construction debris and trash, will not threaten the Biscayne Aquifer or a wellfield proposed for Parkland within two miles of the landfill, council staff members reported.

The regional planning board had presided over two meetings of geologists, state water officials and government leaders from both counties to assess potential conflicts between the two projects.

``There are a whole series of studies that have been done,`` Dekle said.

Bobbi Pugliese, a Parkland city commissioner, objected to the Palm Beach County project, saying the county eventually would alter the landfill to include a resource recovery plant and more dangerous wastes.

``I think the Palm Beach Solid Waste Authority is only presenting part of the picture,`` Pugliese said.

Dekle agreed there were proposals to someday seek permission for more dangerous trash disposal at the Palm Beach County site.

But she said Palm Beach County officials to date have not granted permission for those uses.

``Palm Beach County is very careful to say they have not even considered that yet,`` Dekle said. ``What Palm Beach County is saying is, ``That`s another matter.```

She said the issue of potential water pollution would be re-examined if Palm Beach County officials considered accepting more dangerous refuse.

Until then, she said, there is no reason to stop either the wellfield project or the landfill plan from going ahead as scheduled.